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Friday, July 15, 2005

Your Government at Work

Charging RINO has worthwhile post about a disgusting exchange among Senators debating a Homeland Security bill. Well, they were supposed to be debating that, but somehow it went waaaaaaaaay of the tracks and became an argument about the Valerie Palme affair. Never mind a staunch ally has just been through a devasting terror attack. Nevermind that New York Police are teaching transit riders how to spot suicide bombers here on American soil. Susan Collins, one of the few "grownups" in the Senate had this to say:

"Mr. President, last week we saw the terrorist attack on an ally. Our country faces very important homeland security challenges. We have been in the midst of debating important public policy issues - how best to secure mass transit or to prepare our first responders. I cannot believe the Senate has diverted from that important debate - a debate important to Americans all across this country - and instead of finishing up the Homeland Security bill, we have diverted to debate these issues.

We should not be doing this. This is exactly why the American public holds Congress in such low esteem right now.

We should be focusing on the national security and homeland security challenges facing this Nation. We should not be engaging in this debate. I, for one, am going to vote no on both of the amendments."

This shows how far off track our leaders have become. Everything is a partisan war. We have a bunch of hacks in Washington, not leaders. Kudos for Senator Collins for seeing what the Senate is truly there for: to work for the good of the nation, not to put a feather in their partisan hacks.

There is never a good time for this kind of sorry "debate," but especially not now, when we need to make sure we can prevent such attacks as those that have happened in London and Madrid. Shame on the Senate for their lack of leadership.